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This and that...cabbages and Kings !(Not really!)

Hello everyone! It's lovely to welcome you here, whoever you are and however
you get here, whether you decide to stay or to move on.

This week has been busy - and I think it's possibly how Things Will Be for a
while (although I am finishing with one student next week, so that will cut
down a little of the work.) This month I think I have earned the mosty I have
ever earned, since I've been working for myself, which is good, as August is
likely to be a "thin" month.

Because of working a lot, I don't have free time to plan, so yesterday
morning was spent catching up on Lesson Summary e-mails (for my phone
students), planning my Wednesday lessons, and preparing all the bills for
May. I did some more planting on Saturday afternoon – the balcony looks
very good now, especially with an astro turf lawn!! One of my students had put
artificial grass around his swimming pool and had some off-cuts he was going to
throw away. I asked if I could have a bit, and now we have a tiny lawn on the
balcony!! Three out of four cats quite like sitting on it, while the fourth is
very suspicious and avoids going near it!

Then this morning I finished preparing for other lessons in the week. I hope to start a new Zentangle today (sorry, Michelle, your horse is being put on hold as I have a paid commission! Oooh, exciting!)I know Kezzie has received her TARDIS zentangle, so I can show it to you now:

Although the idea itself wasn't original, the design and zentangle bit was all my own work...

I'm quite happy with it. And it was certainly different! Both Trish's Beatles zentangle, and Kezzie's TARDIS have challenged me quite a bit!I'm preaching and leading the service for the next two Sundays. This is not
a problem, save for the fact that I won't have time to write the sermon until
next Saturday, and so I'll have to choose the hymns a bit "blind" (as
I can't wait till Saturday to let the organist know what we're having.) so they
may not be very well linked to the theme. Mind you, I do wonder how many people
notice that I try to link the hymns with the theme anyway!!

Despite being busy I've had the chance to catch up with apèros at Friend
Cathy's - once at her house, and yesterday here. I was hoping we could sit on
the balcony, but it poured down, with some dramatic thunder and
lightening.

This week's food is planned as being a simple as possible... Things got
moved around last week, and we didn't go out on Friday. Instead we had the duck
breast (that had been planned for Wednesday), and the pasta dish from Thursday
was moved to Saturday, as I ate lunch out and was too full for dinner. Mr FD
cooked himself liver (yuckity yuck) for his dinner, and was Well Pleased.

In fact this week's food is so simple there's no recipes!

TODAY: Roast chicken, and everything that goes with it. I bought a big one,
as I plan to use it for…

MONDAY: Chicken and vegetable stir fry. Mr FD will be preparing this, as
Monday is a get home around 7.00 day.

TUESDAY: Chicken-and-bacon pasties, and vegetables of some kind.

WEDNESDAY: Sausage casserole – or something else with sausages. Again, Mr FD
is in charge, so he can decide.

THURSDAY: I’m not sure. Something quick-ish as I’ll get back from shopping
about 6.00. I think there may be a couple of things that need eating in the
freezer.

FRIDAY: We are out tonight at a “Northern night” at the Relais d’Urfé. The
owners of this restaurant hold monthly “international” evenings, where various
ex-pats in the area get together (not just English ex-pats) to eat and chat. It’s
quite cheap as well, & the food is generally cooked by one (or several) of
the participants. Last month was a German evening – I didn’t go, but Mr FD said
there was lots of pork products on offer – and this month, a friend from t’North
of England is providing the food. I offered to help but (rather snippily) was
told No thanks. I think it will be my turn (scouse and pickled red cabbage)
another month.

Northern cat in flat cap. (and what appears to be a polonecked jumper!)

Thank You for comments - I love getting comments from people, so thank you those who do make the effort.

ANG - we are fighting slugs at the moment....courgette plants decimated, lettuce plants (bought yesterday!) munched to the soil level, and seedlings gobbled. I don't want to use slug pellets but we may be forced to if we require any veggies to grow. On a good note, we harvested our first three strawberries - delicious!!!

KEZZIE: Please don't call Bib gross. (smiley face. Honest. Not a reprimand!!!) She just pees in the wrong place. Actually, now we have added another 2 litter trays there does seem to be slightly less misplaced peeing. Fingers crossed anyway.

FINALLY....

...here's a bit more from "Teaching Donkeys.." Just for Kezzie, it's another description of FOOD!!! Katie, and her fiancé, Rob, are having lunch, while preparing to view the houses that they might buy in the countryside of France...

A
few minutes later Katie and Rob were toasting each other with L’Aperetif de
la Maison, a kir made with white wine and sirop of chestnuts. A
pale, woody brown, the drink tasted tantalisingly of sweetness, and of autumn,
with a tang of the forests that surrounded the village.

“It’s
a strange flavour, but I think I like it,” Katie said, tipping her glass
towards Rob.

Rob
hesitated.

“Yes,
it’s OK – but I think I’d rather have a pint of Bass.”

“Philistine!”
Katie broke off as the waiter brought over two plates. With a deal of ceremony,
he placed them before Katie and Rob.

“Bon
appetit,” he said.

They
surveyed their plates – a mound of green salad leaves, studded with nuggets of
foie gras and walnuts, dressed in a smooth vinaigrette.Katie picked up her knife and fork, and then
paused, a small smile on her lips.

“This
is it,” she whispered. “This is the start of something good. No, something
great. I can feel it. I can tell.”

“It’s
only lunch,” Rob protested. “No need to go over the top about it.”

“No.
It’s more than just lunch. It’s our first meal in the place where we’re going
to live.”

“You’re
just getting stupid and over dramatic now, Katie. We don’t know that. We might
find all the houses are crap.” Rob took a huge bite of his salad and chewed
pensively. “But I have to say, the salad is good.”

Katie
looked down at her plate, and bit back a retort. Why get the trip off to a bad
start, she thought. The houses would be perfect, and the only problem they would
have would be deciding which one to buy. Looking up, she smiled at Rob, and
said,

“That’s
the first time you’ve eaten lettuce without complaining about rabbit food.”

“I
know – but there’s something different about the salad here. It’s more
interesting, it isn’t just iceberg lettuce, it’s stuff with frilly edges and it
actually tastes of something. And the dressing is so good…” He wiped a hunk of
baguette around his plate, soaking up the last few spots of vinaigrette.

“And
the foie gras?”

“Fantastic.
One of my favourite things – just don’t think too hard about how it’s made!”

Rob
picked up the carafe of wine and poured himself another glassful.

After
a plateful of meltingly tender boeuf bourgignon served with gratin
dauphinoise, and a little bundle of green beans, Katie sighed.

“I
couldn’t eat another mouthful. That was delicious.”

“Well,
I’m not turning down the cheese board. Just look at that.”

She
turned around to see the waiter wheeling an enormous trolley towards them,
laden down with cheese of so many different varieties Katie thought it would be
impossible to name them all. But not for the waiter, who was rightly proud of
the huge choice of cheese that he was offering.

“Bleu
d’Auvergne,” he gestured with his knife towards a creamy looking blue
cheese. “Forme d’Ambert” Another blue, “Saint Nectaire “, this
time he indicated a cheese with a strangely unattractive greyish-orange rind.
Its flesh however looked delicious, a semi firm texture, and a whiff of the
forest about it. “Crottin de Chavignol.” His
knife hovered over a cheese that looked suspiciously like droppings.

“I’m
very full,” she said, glaring at Rob, “But I must try some of that delicious
looking cheese, thank you.” And she pointed to the small, greyish-white circles
of goat’s cheese.

The
waiter placed one of the pieces on her plate, and passed it to her. After Rob
had made his selection, and their bread supply had been replenished, Katie cut
into the cheese. The interior was creamy white with a slightly flaky texture.
It certainly didn’t look as though droppings of any sort had been used in its
manufacture, even though the aroma was strongly that of goats. She took a bite,
and, as she relaxed, she realised how tense she had been about trying this new
cheese, allegedly made from the waste product of goats.

“It’s
delicious,” she said. “Really, really nice. You should have tried it, Rob”

“No
thanks,” he snorted. “I’m not trying anything made from goats’ shit. Stinky
creatures. I don’t know how you can put it in your mouth.”

“D’you
know, sometimes you can be really pathetic…” She took another mouthful, and
pointedly looked out of the window onto the typically French square. Even in
the depths of winter, with a grey sky, clouds laden with rain, the place looked
inviting. The Christmas lights were twinkling, strung across the street from
lamp post to lamp post, the words “Joyeux Fêtes” wishing the townspeople
a happy and peaceful holiday. The huge tubs, empty now, Katie could imagine
full of bright geraniums, and the trees, stark in their winter bareness, would
be softened with the green of leaves and blossom. She couldn’t do it, she
couldn’t stay angry with Rob for long, not today. Not with this being the day
that they find “their” house.

“Coffee?”
she asked, brightly, turning back to face him.

“Coffee?
Not on your Nellie. Not yet. Have you seen the puddings?”

“Where?”
She craned her neck to see them.

“No,
not there. Over by the entrance. I saw them as we came in. They look gorgeous.”

Katie
looked over to another trolley, this time covered with a glass dome. Inside she
could see gateaux, creamy puddings, bowls of jewel bright fruit and
other delicious looking desserts.

“Rob,
can you really fit one of those in?”

“Fit
it in? I’ve been saving myself for one of those. One of those profiteroles,
please,” he said to the waiter, “With loads of cream on it.”

“Madame?”

“Nothing,
truly, thank you.” Bravely Katie tried out one of the phrases she had been
learning. “J’ai bien mangé. C’’était un bon repas.”

“Merci, Madame.
Vous désirez un café?”

“Oui,
merci” The waiter
left.

“Look
at you then, with your fancy French phrases.” Rob seemed to be mocking her.

“Well,
at least I’m trying. You could’ve taken lessons with Madame Duchovie too, you
know. In fact if you’re planning on starting a business here, then you really
should be learning.”

“Oh,
there’ll be plenty of time for that when we’re living out here.”

He
tossed his spoon down onto his empty plate, and sighed contentedly.

“That
should keep me going, I think…At least until this evening.”

“I
should think that would keep you going until the middle of next week! We’ve
eaten loads.”

Katie
drained her coffee cup, wincing a little at the strength of the bitter brew.

“Come
on. Let’s get the bill and go. Otherwise we’ll be late meeting Piers.”

I have two blogs...this one, generally about food, and my other "View From The Teapot", at dormouse.wibsite.com which is more about our life in France. I'd love to see you at one or the other - or even both!